Why do the instructions say to soak beans overnight?

I just wash them, and boil them for a couple of hours, and they seem fine to me. What's with the extended-soaking business?

to release the deadly, dreaded bean-gas or something like that

MAYBE, just maybe they hold their shape/texture together more if they absorb cold water over night - ot maybe they are starting to sprout and that somehow makes them more something - nutritious??? :shrug:

I haven't noticed any difference myself. I throw them straight in the crock pot without passing go and that works fine.

Soaking beans allows them to slowly absorb the moisture they need to cook evenly. Soaking keeps the beans from splitting open or from the having the outside shell fall apart while the middle is still hard. For many people, eating beans causes intestinal discomfort, or gas because it is difficult to digest complex sugars in beans The main reasons for soaking dried beans is to soften and return moisture to them, and to break down the oligosaccharides (the indigestible sugars that cause gas). The hardest class of beans are also troublesome for digestion and soaking helps breakdown these types.

Another reason to soak beans is that it maximizes their nutritional benefit which is important. When beans aren't soak ed it means longer cooking times before they become soft enough to eat. The longer the cooking times the more proteins, vitamins and minerals are destroyed in the heat - all the good things they we wanted when we selected the beans in the first place.

The longer soaking time is recommended to allow a greater amount of sugar to dissolve, thus helping the beans to be more easily digested. Always discard the soaking water.

Lastly we want to soak beans because it is economical, so listen up all you frugal shoppers. Beans are protein, and pound for pound they are equal to a good cut of meat, but cost only a few pennies. As stated above, the longer you have to cook beans the more valuable protein will be destroyed and this can impact the nutritional needs of your family, especially if you do not serve protein in other forms to compensate.

Also on the subject of dollar stretching if you are cooking those beans longer than necessary by not soaking first then you are watching your energy dollars go up in smoke - well make that steam - by using more natural gas, electricity or propane fuel in cooking.

http://missvickie.com/howto/beans/howtosoak.html

A well soaked bean means a fresher smelling home. :)

... I've not noticed myself being extra farty from non-pre-soaked beans.

Thanks for the info (all of you)!

you wouldn't notice yourself. You'd notice the rest of the people in the house.

Also depends on the bean. Smaller beans like baby limas, black beans, and lentils don't need it. Larger, and tougher beans like kidney and pinto beans do. Even black beans taste better when soaked, though, IMHO.

how much cooking time does it save? say for pintos - I usually simmer for 6 to 8 hours. (depends on age - I do know old beans take longer)

.

I often wonder how my parents' marriage survived before they invented Bean-O

Cottage cheese, buttermilk or active culture yogurt...kills the gas as well as Beano. And tastes better.

don't have to get that special shit they've been advertising lately? any "real" yogurt will do?

or beforehand?

Edited for clarity

what your told???

Sorry, I was having GD flashbacks... :)

if you always take care to buy "new crop" dried beans, it isn't a problem

however, i notice that beans can be fartless if i actually slow cook them in their soaking water overnight on low, wash them well, THEN cook them the next day in whatever recipe, they will be soft and mushy, but they won't make you toot! (your results may vary if you are quite sensitive to beans)

I've been following the same recipe for about 20 years, but lately I've been getting really mushy beans. Does anybody know what brand is the best? I really miss my beans.

becuase they were pretty much uncookable! I'd soak them overnight and they'd still be rock hard little bastards after four hours of boiling--most of the time I'd be done with that after2, 2 1/2 hours.

I've got a pound of black beans soaking on the countertop right this minute!

M'mmmmm black bean soup! :)

I mean, instead of navy beans?

so what I can say for sure is that black beans work very well in that setting. I've never tried pure batch of baked black beans. I must admit that I am now curious--they'd certainly look interesting, that's for sure.

Bring them to a boil, then take them off the heat and let sit for an hour. Just like the overnight thing.

overnight will make them easier to cook...it softens the outer part of them ( navy beans are tough, just like the Navy ).

My father did this whenever he cooked his famous ( yeah, it really should be ) ham and navy bean soup...and it was to DIE for.

Got to dig up the recipe here...

makes them easier to cook

:shrug:

Either one works fine.

Next weekend!

I loved home-baked beans.